


The Inside Man

by DistantStorm



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Literally just Eli trying to bring Thrawn home, M/M, Pining, The Kalluzeb is romantic but this story is not, The Thranto can be read as shippy or friendship, Two ex-Imperials walk into a bar..., not terribly spoiler-y but some knowledge of Treason and Alliances won't hurt you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23271532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistantStorm/pseuds/DistantStorm
Summary: “Everything alright?” Zeb asked, looking to Kallus.“Fine, Garazeb,” Kallus laid a hand on his partner’s bicep. “We were just finishing up.” He turns to better regard the Lasat. “I’ll explain later,” He said, with a gaze that spoke more than words ever could. Then, he returned his gaze to Eli, nodding. “Our conversation was…” He paused, as if trying to parse the right words. “Most illuminating. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”The one called Garazeb inserted himself into the conversation, asking, “And what’s that?”Kallus’s eyes glint in understanding as he meets Eli’s gaze head on. “Someone who also had the misfortune of serving both sides.”
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Eli Vanto
Comments: 18
Kudos: 157





	The Inside Man

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mudkipwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mudkipwrites/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy!

That this had even been considered an option was evidence of how absolutely desperate he was. That Eli had been permitted to go - that it had been a mission bestowed upon him by his commanding officer - was a testimony to the fact that he was not the only one who felt this way. It was a trip he’d make alone, no Navigators allowed to follow him though they wanted to, no well-guarded ship - only the small vessel he’d made the journey out to the Unknown Regions in. 

It was poetic, really.

Eli had looked into all of it. He knew how little of a chance there was.

All of the Seventh Fleet had disappeared over Lothal overnight. There and gone, like a star gone supernova, a briefly blinding, dying light. He knew about the Jedi there, he knew about Pryce. He knew, in the ways his girls - the Navigators - told him through scattered, hasty dreams, that the Empire was already lost. That Thrawn had been dealt a hand he could not win.

Eli would like to say that in hindsight, he could see it in his posture, the last time he’d seen him, almost three years earlier.

But that would be a lie.

Thrawn hid himself away well. And regardless of whatever was - or wasn’t - their relationship to each other, Eli felt as though he owed the Chiss an honest attempt. Regardless of what the CDF had determined.

Ar’alani knew he’d go anyway, but that hadn’t swayed her. She, like him, was desperate for news. Thrawn was not a man of many friends. Colleagues, enemies, rivals? Sure. But between the two of them, and Eli’s slow assimilation into the Chiss lifestyle to help them get to know one another, they recognized each other for what they were.

They were not fools, though. Any trail had likely already gone cold. That wasn’t the point, though. Thrawn had lived in exile for years, he could do it again, even if it wasn’t on his terms. This was about hope. Until there was a body, evidence, _something,_ Eli would not give up.

In no uncertain terms, Thrawn had come into Eli’s life and proceeded to burn everything he’d ever planned to the ground like wildfire. Eli had resented him for a long time, and Thrawn knew it, too. But they’d become friends. It had taken a long time for Eli to realize that, to glean the meaning between veiled words that for Thrawn had been blatant and obvious. 

Thrawn had made him a better man. No longer was Eli complacent, willing to accept his lot in life.

As he was unable to accept anything less than success in this. He _would_ bring Thrawn home. Perhaps it would be done alone, perhaps he’d have to get Ar’alani and the entire fleet - hell, maybe the entire Aristocra would have to be swayed. But he’d do it. Thrawn deserved that.

Even if Eli knew he’d made mistakes. Even if he’d stuffed his fist in his mouth at the idea of the man who’d taken him under his wing unleashing a barrage on innocent civilians, unwilling to believe Mitth'raw'nuruodo to ever reach that level of desperation. Despite his genius, Eli had never expected Thrawn to be perfect. In a way, Eli suspected his humanity - the ease of accessibility to such a wide spectrum of emotions - had helped him toe the line.

He sighed, straightening to his full height and rolling his shoulders loose. Tonight, he was not Captain Ivant of the Chiss Ascendency nor Ex-Lieutenant Commander Vanto of the decommissioned Galactic Empire. Tonight, he was simply Eli.

Exhaling, he took to the stairs leading down into the cantina and approached the bar for a drink.

-/

The bartender, an Ithorian who’d taken over Old Jho’s Pit Stop after the Empire had been cleared out from the planet and chosen to keep the name, nodded politely when he stepped in. Asked about his leg and prescribed him something extra strong to dull the biting ache. Only after he’d taken his first sip of the drink - stiff and rigid but not unwelcomely so - did the green skinned alien incline his head towards someone sitting at the far end of the bar counter, looking up at what was the New Republic’s news.

The man rose, obviously seeing him out of his periphery, but did not approach. Instead, he dipped his head in acknowledgement and waited for him to decide.

Kallus had already known to expect him, but he was curious as to the reason why.

“While I find myself often asked out for a drink by ex-colleagues trying to find their way in this new world,” He began, carefully measuring each word, “This may be, by far, the strangest request yet. Rumor had it you defected before I did.” Kallus extends a hand.

Eli Vanto took it. His handshake was firm. “Thank you for agreein’ to meet me,” He said, his accent warming his words.

“Of course,” Kallus replied. He catalogued the way the smaller man’s dialect was altered by something different than his Wild Space heritage. In fact, it sounded to Kallus as though Basic wasn’t a language he used much these days.

They drank in silence a moment before Eli spoke. “Is this home now?”

“For a while,” Kallus answered. “My partner and I are considering our options.”

“You have someone,” Eli commented, stirring his drink with a narrow straw. “That’s good.”

“You didn’t know,” Golden brown eyes flash to the Lysatran native. It isn’t a question. “Where have you been since you left the Empire?”

“I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

Kallus smirked. “We all have our reasons. Personal, professional,” He looked to Eli then, sizing him up before deciding, “Both.”

“Sometimes it’s one, then it becomes the other.”

“I don’t think it was that way for you,” Kallus answered. He sipped his drink, turning on the swiveling stool. “As far as I know,” He leaned in, eyes narrowed, sharp and dangerous, whispering, “Thrawn is dead. If that’s why you’ve come, I’m afraid you’ve done so in vain.” He doesn’t sound apologetic about it, at all.

Eli nodded slowly, not looking away. “I don’t think y’believe that, though. I heard he had one of your friends,” He frowns, “The kid-Jedi-”

“His name is Ezra.”

 _“Is,”_ Eli emphasized. “You think he’s alive.”

Mindful of his surroundings, Kallus hissed softly, “You don’t know what he’s done to these people. While you’ve been out doing-” He threw his hands in a wide gesture to signify whatever it was Eli had been doing since he’d disappeared, “The atrocities he committed against these people, against the Rebellion defies basic morality.” He shook his head, disbelieving. “And now, you come here, looking for information. Even if I did agree to tell you, there’s nothing to tell. You’re years late, Eli Vanto. He-”

“It’s Ivant, now.”

“Ivant?” He furrowed his brow, before leaning back against the short backrest to mull it over, easily putting the pieces together. Kallus had been one of the best, so Eli knew he would. “So he did send you to his people,” He said ruefully. “It was one of the least likely rumors I’d heard. In fact, most people suspected you’d taken the fall for one of his shortcomings with the Emperor and thrown out an airlock.”

“Nah,” Eli answered. “He asked me to help his people.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s more to it than this.” He leans back, looking up and over one of the low windows to see the star-filled night. “Empire, New Republic, the rebellion and everything in-between. There’s more out there. Good an’ bad,” He drawled, a little slower now as the cadence of his voice became more steady with each word. “I thought you might understand.”

“Understand what?”

“I heard about you,” Eli said. “About how you changed sides. You saw what it was really, truly like in the Empire, and you chose to go to the other side. To do good. You felt the desperation that came with having to choose the greater good over what was best for yourself, I know you did. I heard what they said about you.”

“Is that why you joined the Chiss?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Yeah, some‘a it was bad, but we did some good, too.”

“But overall,” The ex-ISB agent said gravely, “We were only serving the Emperor like blinded fools.”

“Yer not wrong,” Eli agreed. “I’m glad he sent me away when he did.”

Surprised, Kallus asked, “He sent you away?”

“Y’know, I didn’t pick this path for myself. _I_ wanted to be a supply officer on a ship in the Outer Rim. Do my service, collect my pension.” His gaze was soft, but intent as he looked to Kallus. “He saw somethin’ in me that I didn’t see in myself. Somethin’ I still can’t always see, if I’m honest.”

“But why would he-”

“Personal, professional,” Eli shrugged, saying lighter, “Maybe both.” He fixed Kallus with another stern look, not at all the soft-spoken but quick to anger Lieutenant that had been gossiped about wildly years ago when he’d disappeared. “The point is like you said. We all have our reasons. I thought you might see that now.”

“I still can’t tell you anything. The _Chimaera_ was taken by purrgil. I don’t know where they are.”

“You know the direction they left in. And if your Jedi friend was with him, someone must know _something._ I’m not asking for more than what you can give. I know these people don’t think that boy’s dead.”

“And how would you know?”

“I know people like your pal Ezra Bridger,” Eli admitted softly. “They’ve seen things. Snippets of light and sound, that sorta thing.”

Kallus steepled his fingers, forearms creating an archway over his drink. “If you have information,” He supposed, “I’ll trade.”

“If I did, I’d have found him by now.”

Waving a hand, Kallus asked, “Then what _do_ you have to offer?”

“If I find him, I’ll take him home. You’ll never see him again. And, if I see your missin’ Jedi, I’ll send him your way, too.”

“A tempting offer,” Kallus said, though it was clearly not if body language was any indication, Eli thought. “But-”

“I know what he did to you.”

“You have no idea,” Kallus snarled. “What he made me watch-”

“He never wanted to kill unnecessarily.”

“And yet he killed them without flinching.”

“As have I, and so have you.” Eli looked down at his drink, resigned. “I do not think he - any of us, really - have earned the forgiveness of this system, nor am I one to judge you on your feelings toward him.”

“And yet you’re trying to convince me to give you information that could lead you to him, when you know,” Kallus trailed off. “There was a point where I had hoped maybe he would kill me. Instead, he made me watch as he executed the people I swore to protect.”

Eli sighed. “You’re right. The last time I saw him was right after the battle at Atollon. He hid it well, but his superiors knew his responsibilities were wearing him down.”

“Yes, I’m sure the Empire-”

“I’m not talking about the Empire.” Eli maintained eye contact when Kallus looked his way this time. “I’m talking about the Chiss military.”

“Thrawn was exiled by the Chiss.”

“And you were the ISB agent who wanted the Rebels dead, more than anyone.” Eli rose from his seat, pulling out Imperial credits - more than enough for both their drinks and a generous tip - and leaving them on the counter. The Republic hadn’t switched over their currency yet, with more pressing issues to handle. He bowed at the waist, afterward. It was a strangely foreign motion to Kallus. “I apologize for whatever he did to you and yours. I realize it lacks meaning, comin’ from me. But I believe that he deserves to be found, even if he’s bones in a shallow grave. He deserves to be brought home.”

Kallus eyed a scuff on the stone floor just to the left of where Eli - _Ivant_ \- stood. He rose with a sort of wariness that came with experience, but his eyes were bright and earnest. He sighed. “I will meet you here tomorrow at midday. It will take some time to compile the information into a data card since most of it is encrypted. There is not much, though, so I do not know if the raw data will help you at all in your search.”

“I-” Eli’s voice broke over the syllable. It takes him two tries for the rest. “Kallus, thank you.”

“If I ever see that bastard again, I _will_ shoot him. So we’re clear.”

“Crystal.”

The long time Fulcrum agent doesn’t look comfortable, but he doesn’t appear defeated in such a way that would suggest this to be a betrayal. That made Eli a bit calmer, more confident that the ex-Imperial would come through.

“You serve their military.”

“I do.”

“Huh.” He scrutinized Eli one final time, rising to his feet as well. It was apparent that his leg had been injured, he does not stagger, but his first step has the slightest wince. “Commander?”

“Captain.”

“That is a… a far cry from a supply officer.”

“That’s for sure.” He grinned at the other human. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Hey, Alex!” A loud, deep voice called out across the din of the bar. An alien with striped purple fur who’s easily twice Eli’s weight, but compact, all muscle and sinew approaches him.

“A Lasat?” Tilting his head, Eli asked, “You?”

Kallus’s smile is humble and perhaps a tiny bit awed, though it softened further as the Lasat reached them. They’re still standing, facing each other solemnly. “Everything alright?” The alien asked, looking to Kallus, one hand reaching out to bar around his back.

“Fine, Garazeb,” Kallus laid a hand on his partner’s bicep. “We were just finishing up.” He turns to better regard the Lasat. “I’ll explain later,” He said, with a gaze that spoke more than words ever could. Then, he returned his gaze to Eli, nodding. “Our conversation was…” He paused, as if trying to parse the right words. “Most illuminating. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

The one called Garazeb inserted himself into the conversation, asking, “And what’s that?”

Kallus’s eyes glint in understanding as he meets Eli’s gaze head on. “Someone who also had the misfortune of serving both sides.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so I think I'm going to need to write more of these two (preferably when they actually get to see each other).


End file.
